Readjustment of water rates by Wholesale Price Index may be prorated

This Sunday, the National Superintendency of Sanitation Services (Sunass) He explained that the automatic readjustment of water rates by the Wholesale Price Index (IPM) may be prorated in up to three billing cycles.

Through a regulation published in El Peruano, they modified the general regulation of Rates of Sanitation Services provided by service providers.

Thus, they specify -among other points- that service providers will have the possibility of applying the automatic rate readjustment due to a minimum variation of 3% of the IPM in a prorated and uniform manner in two or three billing cycles, provided that there are repeated accumulations of the IPM of at least 3%.

In simple steps, the standard states that If, during the period of 90 days to carry out the automatic readjustment of rates and prices due to the minimum increase in the IPM, a variation of at least 3% in the IPM accumulates again, the provider company may apply each of the automatic readjustments on a pro rata basis.

The increase in the IMP since the second half of 2020 and, especially in this year, the 50 service providers updated —at least twice— their accumulation rates above 3%, a fact for which Sunass proposes the aforementioned modification.

Sunass recalled that with the Framework Law for the Management and Provision of Sanitation Services, the lending companies must automatically readjust the rates each time a variation of at least 3% of the IPM accumulates. This, in order that they can mitigate the impact of the high costs of the inputs they use for the provision of their services in a context of inflation, in order to avoid affecting the sustainability of the company and the quality of the services provided to the population.

Finally, they recalled that the provider company must previously communicate through the official gazette or one of greater circulation the prorated application of the tariff readjustment.